Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag made the strategic decision to rotate his team for the FA Cup game against West Ham.
After two intense matches against Barcelona and then Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final, this was deemed to be a necessary choice.
United have a testing away game against Liverpool on Sunday and Erik ten Hag has admitted he had one eye on this as he made his team selection for the FA Cup tie.
He explained after the game that this upcoming match also influenced his choice to bring Marcus Rashford and Casemiro on, insisting it was all part of his plan.
Ten Hag on Casemiro and Rashford
Erik ten Hag explained in his post-match interview that he had always planned to bring on Casemiro and Rashford.
He said this was to keep up their sharpness ahead of the game at Anfield on Sunday.
Ten Hag told the club website: “I planned to bring them on. Because I think it was good for the player.
“To stay in the rhythm, players love that. You get energy from it and they needed to bring the performance every time again.
“You can rest them for 45 minutes, but some minutes they needed for this Sunday.”
The way the game was going, even if Ten Hag had not planned to use the duo, he would have needed to.
United were weaker without Casemiro and Rashford and may well have lost the cup tie without them.
Casemiro helped United gain a greater control of the midfield and threatened from set pieces, with a header ruled out for offside.
Marcus Rashford’s mere presence kept West Ham’s defenders occupied, and created more space for Alejandro Garnacho to do some damage.
The right balance
Ten Hag knew Rashford and Casemiro needed the right balance of rest and match action ahead of the game at Anfield.
The way they helped contribute to the win over West Ham saw it all work out perfectly, with the team keeping up their momentum.
Rashford and Casemiro have got even sharper for this weekend’s big game. A win in that one will go a long way to securing Champions League football for next season.
‘Absolutely useless!’ – Roy Keane launches scathing attack after Manchester United vs West Ham
Man United icon Keane did not hold back in his criticism of the Hammers and name-dropped Tottenham in his blasting of the visitors.
Roy Keane wasn’t afraid to share his true thoughts about West Ham’s defence vs Man United (Image: ITV)
Roy Keane couldn’t hide his frustration with West Ham’s defence after they were beaten by Manchester United on Wednesday evening.
After Said Benrahma’s opening strike on 54 minutes, a Nayef Aguerd own goal brought the hosts back on level terms in the 77th minute before Alejandro Garnacho curled in a beautiful effort in the final minute of normal time.
Fred made sure of the win in added time and West Ham were left rueing missing several good opportunities, two of which fell to Michail Antonio when through one-on-one with David de Gea.
But Keane was more appalled by the defensive fragility of the Hammers, especially towards the end of the game. Speaking on ITV post-match, the former United captain took a swipe at Spurs – who lost to Championship outfit Sheffield United in their fifth round tie – while critiquing David Moyes’ side.
Keane ranted: “I have seen it all before. They come, get a bit giddy, have opportunities, not just West Ham, but the Spurs’ of this world, they get possession, one or two chances, they get plaudits, they end up getting beaten.
“Defensively West Ham were shocking, absolutely useless and gave away three goals. I have seen it over the years, but it’s laughable.” United made a number of changes for the game and had to bring on Casemiro, Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez to turn the tide.
Keane believes United were let off the hook during the contest given their poor first-half showing. “They have got lucky tonight,” he said.
“We said before tonight that he made a huge gamble with all the changes and it looked like it was going to backfire, but they started to do what they were good at, contributions from players off the bench. 3-1, comfortable in the end.”
Source: unitedinfocus.com; manchestereveningnews.co.uk
